Summit theme

Museums have always engaged with society. But the modes and means, the purposes and perspectives of societal engagement shift through time and according to differences of governance, organization and practice. Key to understanding these differences are the concepts of enlightenment and experience. Grand claims have been made that museums in many parts of the world have seen major transformations in societal engagement from being about enlightenment of all citizens to being about entertaining the individual. This summit focuses on unraveling these grand claims with a view to advance nuanced understandings as a basis for action. You will meet high-profiled keynote speakers offering rich historical as well as current analyses of how the two concepts play out in museum work; and you will be engaged in dialogues with other participants on how to handle dimensions of enlightenment and entertainment in practical museum work.